A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke

Side Story 14: Permission (I)

★★★

The time for dinner, which Esther hoped would never come, came very quickly.

“Should I say I have no appetite and go back?”

“It’s something I need to talk about anyway. If I delay, I won’t be able to say it.”

“They are not going to faint, are they?”

When she thought of her dad and brothers, who always cared for her, it wouldn’t be strange if they fell down while holding the back of their neck.

Forcibly moving her stiff feet, she headed for the dining room.

She was the first to arrive. There was no one in the dining room yet.

As she sighed and pulled out the chair she always sat on…

“Esther, I wanted to play with you earlier, but you were sleeping. Why are you taking a nap?”

“You have puffy eyebags. You look tired. What’s wrong?”

Judy and Dennis greeted her as they entered the restaurant.

“What’s the matter? I must have fallen asleep without realizing it.”

Esther looked around and gulped down the glass of water in front of her.

She hadn’t even started talking in earnest, but it felt like her throat was already burning and her mouth was suddenly drying up.

“You all came early.”

Deheen, who had just arrived, put the papers he had been reading until just before he stepped in on the table and brushed his fingers throug his hair.

“Father, what is that?”

“It’s a document related to the knights. It’s time to reorganize, so there’s a lot of work to do.”

As promised with the children, Deheen was always present during mealtimes, but he was too busy to let go of work even for a moment.

‘It’s a busy time, it’s not a good time.’

Anxious, Esther crumpled a napkin under the table.

In the meantime, the maids brought the prepared food to their seats.

The appetizer was potato soup. The rising steam made it look very delicious.

The soup, which was filled with diced potatoes, was one of Esther’s favorites.

“Okay, let’s eat.”

“Thank you for the food.”

“Pour some more water here.”

The three men were no different from usual.

Esther, who was agonizing, eventually began to eat vigorously.

She intended to eat as much as she could, since she didn’t know how long she would have to endure if she really fasted.

Actually, she could barely taste what she was eating. But since she was practically gobbling the food, the bottom of her bowl showed in an instant.

Seeing this, Deheen was very pleased. He commented with a smile,

“You must be very hungry.”

“Haha. Yes.”

“Eat a lot. You’re still growing.”

“Ah, Father. No matter how young she is, the growth period is already over.”

Judy, who hated potatoes, pushed his untouched bowl of soup to Esther, telling her to eat it too.

Meal time went smoothly.

Esther didn’t want to spoil the happy meal, so she waited for her family to finish eating.

But Deheen hurriedly finished his meal. Wiping his lips with a napkin, he seemed like he was about to leave.

“You kids should eat slowly. I have a lot of work, so I’ll go first.”

Judy and Dennis were still eating, but Esther thought she couldn’t let this opportunity slip by, so she called out, stopping Deheen.

“Dad.”

“Yes?”

Deheen sat back in his chair and directed Esther a warm smile.

“I’m going to have my debutante this year.”

As soon as she carefully brought up the topic, all three responded.

“Of course I remember. If you want anything, I’ll buy everything.”

“I’ll pick something nice for you.”

“A partner is important for the debutante.”

Deheen, Judy, and Dennis spoke in this exact order.

In particular, when the word ‘partner’ came out of Dennis’ mouth, all three pairs of green eyes instantly turned competitive.

“Hmmmm, I heard something recently. That the number of daughters dancing with their fathers has increased in the debutante.”

“That’s a rare case. Esther, you know I’m the best at dancing, right?”

“I am dancing as much as I can these days. I can’t concede the position of your debutante partner.”

After the debutante, one would officially be recognized as an adult.

Since it was such a meaningful event, all three of them were aiming for the position of Esther’s debutante partner.

“Um… therefore…”

Feeling burdened by the three twinkling pairs of eyes staring at her, Esther closed her eyes tightly and loudly said,

“Actually, I have already decided on a partner. I’m sorry, but this time it’s not Brothers or Dad.”

Esther waited for a reaction, but there was great silence.

Flustered, she opened one eye and looked around.

“…….”

Deheen, Judy, and Dennis’ faces were stained with shock, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard.

Judy, who came to his senses first, asked with a bewildered face.

“If not us, then who?”

“Noah.”

Clink!

Deheen was startled and his hands weakened, causing him to let go of the glass he was holding.

The glass that was broken in an instant was no different from Deheen’s now shocked heart.

“Your Excellency! I’ll clean it up soon. Please stay!”

The maids came running, but even without their words, Deheen was already frozen, his hands floating in the air.

He didn’t even realize that the glass was broken.

It wasn’t just Deheen. The twins had the same reaction. It was as if their souls had left them.

‘Did I speak too hastily?’

Esther found the atmosphere more dreary than she thought. Restless, she quickly added,

“We are the same age. We have known each other for a long time and will have our debut together, so I thought it would be nice to be partners…”

“Anyway, since we are here, is it really necessary?”

“That’s right. You can partner with him at other parties in the future. Do you really have to do it during the debutante?”

The twins insisted. They were unable to hide their regret, having been looking forward to the debutante as if it was their own business.

Esther was almost persuaded by their words for a moment, but quickly regained her determination.

They suggested for her to partner with Noah at another party, but she had never been partners with Noah.

It was clear that at a later date, they would come up with another reason to prevent them from becoming partners.

In the end, she decided that she had to correct it now.

“I have something important to tell you. In fact, Noah and I are…”

“Are?”

Deheen’s eyes narrowed at Esther’s unfinished words.

“What is it?”

“Is there an accident?”

Ignoring the twins’ questions, Esther shouted.

“That’s not it, I decided to go out with Noah!”

Even after she said it, she was shaking and her heart was beating like crazy.

This was almost on the same level as when she told Noah she liked him.

“My ears have not been good lately, I am hearing nonsense.”

“Father, I will go to the Imperial Palace for a while.”

Judy unsheathed the sword he was wearing around his waist.

“I will go too.”

Even Dennis, a pacifist, rose to follow.

Esther stomped and held them both back.

“Where are you going at this time? Let’s sit down and talk.”

The twins pretended to give in and sat back down, but their faces were darker than ever.

“This is nonsense.”

“I can’t accept it. Our Esther is in love…”

Unlike the twins who denied reality, Deheen, who had been silent, asked sharply in a low, subdued voice.

“Since when?”

“Yesterday.”

“I cannot allow it. Dirt shouldn’t even enter your view.”

Such a reaction was expected.

Esther forcibly squeezed out the words she had been rehearsing all day in her room, just in case her father came out like this.

“…Then I, I will not eat from now on!”

Tak! She banged the table… No, she hit it lightly and shouted.

Her voice was not threatening at all, she even sounded sorry, but surprisingly, the effect was enormous.

Deheen grabbed his chest as if he had heard Esther say she would run away.

“You are not going to eat? Are you saying you’ll die just because of love? How did I raise you!”

“W-What? It’s not like that, I’m just trying to starve myself for a few days…”

“That’s it.”

Deheen, who grabbed the back of his neck, looked as if he would fall backwards at any moment.

Esther, unable to shock Deheen further, sighed and immediately retracted what she had just said.

“I won’t do it. Instead, please meet Noah just once.”

“…All right. I have some things to take care of, it should be fine in a week.”

“Really?”

Unexpectedly, Deheen readily agreed to meet Noah, and Esther’s face began to turn warm and red.

“I will tell him that.”

Excited, Esther jumped up and wrapped her arms around Deheen’s neck, laughing.

“Thank you, Dad.”

“Thank you.”

—I haven’t allowed it.

Deheen didn’t bother to let those words out of his mouth, swallowing them quietly.

Esther’s cuteness naturally softened his expression, but the reason he wanted to meet Noah was to tell him…

★★★

After Esther’s bomb-like remarks…

To appease her twin brothers, they went for a walk together.

Deheen went to the office to do some work, but he couldn’t concentrate, so he returned to the dining room.

“Delbert, serve me a strong drink.”

Deheen didn’t usually drink alcohol, but today, he got drunk.

It had already been quite a while since he started drinking alone.

“Your Highness, you’d better stop eating and go in to rest.”

Delbert and Ben cautiously dissuaded him.

Deheen, who was leaning to his right and spinning the glass around with his hand, raised his head.

Ben flinched in surprise at the momentary sight of the menacing glint in Deheen’s eyes.

“Ben, what do you think?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Esther is only 18-years-old. But to fall in love… Is it supposed to be this fast?”

“18-years-old is considered an adult, and there are many cases where people get married at 18.”

“So?”

“So the lady is not fast. On the contrary, since this is her first relationship, it can be said it’s late… sorry.”

Ben was sincere in giving honest advice, but he shut his mouth when he saw Deheen hit the table.

Deheen adjusted his posture and poured the alcohol in his glass into his mouth.

“I thought this day could come someday. But experiencing it firsthand is more shocking than I imagined.”

Like Ben said, Deheen couldn’t hide his mixed feelings at the thought of Esther getting married someday.

“You know what? When I close my eyes, I still see the image of Esther as a child running towards me. I remember every moment of her growing years. But she is already an adult. I can’t believe it.”

With a sad smile, Deheen closed his eyes and muttered in a faint voice.

“She grew up really well.”

“That’s right. It’s a big deal because it’s a waste no matter who I give her to.”

“We all think so.”

Esther grew up quickly, but to Deheen, she was a little girl who he always wanted to do everything for.

Ame: I’m not supposed to be crying while translating TT_TT

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